Recent Episodes

[source] “Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship” Written by: Nick Confalone "Sunset Shimmer is shocked to discover that she's been erased from her friends' memories and must search for the magic and… (More)

The theme song is rocking. The animation is very modern, showing the anime influence as well as the spirit of Cartoon Network shows from the ’00s. The stories, while framed as lessons about friendship, are strongly written and character-driven narratives. Each character is unique, well-acted, and immensely funny. The humor ranges from slapstick to jokes to, at times, post-modern gags, such as a chase scene referencing the British classic Benny Hill. … Or the appearance of the fellas from The Big Lebowski in a blink and you’ll miss it scene.

Well, if you don’t already know which chase scene she’s referring to, you’ll have to read the article.

What was interesting is that when I asked the members of Bronies for Good how they see bronies and their critics, the issue of gender and gender appropriateness never really came up.

Yup.

For the male fans of the show, the fans do not focus on the characteristics that critics see when they identify it as a “girlie cartoon”. Or if they do see these characteristics, they do not identify them as being “girlie” but as being something everyone should attend to, learn, live by. The fact that a group of such fans have come together to form a network to encourage social awareness and activism is evidence that the fans are seeing human universals in the themes of the series.

And some of us embrace the “girly” as a way to subvert societal clichés of gender-identity—as long as “girly” is not used “synonymous[ly] with ‘bad’ or ‘stupid,’ ” but instead as Lauren Faust chooses to understand the term.

And that is, after all, the message of the show: friendship is magic, and you are always stronger when you are with your friends. Being a brony isn’t just about watching and liking the show, then. In a sense, it’s also about embodying these ideals, from being a part of Bronies for Good to just being a friend to others in the brony community.

The article does get to the heart of the matter. I hadn’t seen that G1 opening in years, and I’m not about to mock my handful of friends who have been pony fans since G1, but the contrast between yesterday and today is startling.